Their date concluded with Mingyan escaping to her room.
Since Shen Yan had resolved to pursue her, he took advantage of her invitation and slept in the room on the same floor as hers. In the morning, he woke up feeling refreshed, having enjoyed a good night's sleep for the first time in a while.
He diligently made a simple breakfast: toasted slices of bread, fried eggs, and a glass of milk for Mingyan. Then he went to knock on her door. "Yanyan, are you awake?" His hearing was exceptional. After a few moments, he heard movement behind the door and the soft patter of steps approaching.
The door opened to reveal a sleepy Mingyan with an adorable bedhead, wearing shorts... again. Shen Yan focused on her face instead, but the dazed look of the newly awakened Mingyan did nothing to calm his heart. How long could he restrain himself?
He took a deep breath before gently fixing her curly hair. "Come eat breakfast. You have a recording to do, don't you?"
Mingyan absentmindedly nodded, brushing aside the fact that he knew her schedule. Then, she obediently followed him downstairs, tugging at his shirt. The dining room was filled with the fragrance of cooked eggs. Though the sun had yet to rise above the horizon, the sky was already bright. The atmosphere as they ate was warm and comforting.
Shen Yan dreaded the thought of losing it. Having spent eight years in darkness, never glimpsing even the faintest light, he cherished these rare moments.
He drove her to Brilliant Stars, where the recording studio for her new song was located, and bid her farewell with a kiss on the forehead. "Call me when you're done," he said naturally.
Mingyan stepped out of the car, feeling as if she could fly. His kiss lingered on her forehead as she hurried inside without looking back, her face and ears flushed red.
Shen Yan chuckled at her retreating figure. "Heartless," he teased, though his expression betrayed his amusement, especially as he noticed her blushing ears.
Mingyan only calmed down after walking a few steps away from the sliding door. Her flushed face faded, replaced by an indifferent expression. She took a few deep breaths before heading to the elevator. Behind her, a staff member observed her swift change in expression in befuddlement.
'Celebrities are weird, man,' they thought.
The recording studio was located on the 16th floor. As Mingyan stepped into the room, she noticed a guy with blonde hair and blue, arrogant eyes sitting on the couch in the corner. His legs were crossed, and his demeanor was annoyingly aloof.
"Who are you?" he asked, his tone dripping with disdain, in English.
The two other people in the room were panicking internally. Both looked like twins, with black hair, brown eyes, and nearly identical features. The assistant standing beside the arrogant guy, who had dark brown hair and blue eyes, gave a mocking smile.
Mingyan's expression remained unchanged. She stared at him indifferently before replying in fluent English, "None of your business."
The guy, however, was stunned. It wasn't about the fact that no one would dare retaliate against him in America. He was more surprised that this small Chinese girl knew how to speak English—and fluently at that! The assistant shared his disbelief.
The twins applauded Mingyan happily, disregarding any potential disrespect. They gratefully thanked her with sparkles in their eyes.
"What did you say?!" he persisted in English, taunting Mingyan.
"..."
"Hey! I'm talking to you!"
But there was no response.
Mingyan sat across from him on the farthest part of the sofa, hearing nothing, seeing nothing.
"Fuck! Are you deaf?!" Of course, she wasn't, but he was truly enraged at being ignored. "Shit! I finally find someone fluent in English, and you won't even talk to me?!"
Still, there was silence, and the twins struggled to contain their laughter.
"What are you laughing at?!"
Mingyan ignored everyone in the room after that, no matter what was said. Even the twins weren't lucky enough to get her attention.
It wasn't that she wasn't curious about the boy, but her mind was filled with thoughts of Shen Yan. She was absentmindedly staring at nothing as scenes of Shen Yan kissing her forehead and cheeks replayed in her mind.
A faint emotion gradually overtaken her soul.
Finally, Hui Mingli entered the room, holding papers in his hand. Upon seeing his friend with an aggressive expression, his two audio engineers smirking, and his new artist staring blankly at nothing, his eyebrows rose in interest.
"Alright, let's get started—"
Before he could finish his sentence, the blonde-haired guy raised his hand, mimicking the gesture of a student with a question.
Hui Mingli sighed helplessly. "Yes, Sam?"
Sam pointed at Mingyan. "Who's she?" This time, he spoke in broken Chinese.
The twins coughed furiously in surprise. 'Bastard! He gave us such a hard time when we spoke with broken English, and he's not even fluent in Chinese?! Really hateful,' they thought.
Mingyan felt the same way. Even Daddy Gu, who she thought had a terrible accent, spoke better Chinese than Sam.
Hui Mingli had already guessed what had happened before he arrived. "She's the main singer. And you," he warned with his eyes, "are supporting her with your rap."
He sat down beside Mingyan and handed her the lyrics for the song. Mingyan quickly scanned them.
Sam's cheeks puffed out, showing his extreme dislike for the idea.
"You are not allowed to say anything before you've even heard her sing," Hui Mingli corrected firmly.
Sam choked back the words he had wanted to say, turning his head to the side in a sulk. He quickly looked back, remembering his manners. "Aren't you going to introduce us?"
"You haven't done so yourselves?" Hui Mingli asked, exasperated.
"Blame her for ignoring us!" Sam retorted.
Hui Mingli and the twins couldn't help but twitch the corners of their mouths upon hearing Sam's complaint, especially with his terrible accent. Hui Mingli coughed before turning to Mingyan.
"This brat here is Sam Wilscher," he said, gesturing toward Sam. Then he pointed to the twins. "The one on the left is Wang Li, and the other is Wang Lu."
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A BRAT?!"
"This girl is Gu Mingyan," Hui Mingli said, holding his forehead as he tried his best to ignore Sam. "And Sam, can you not scream in the studio? Your voice is echoing everywhere. If I get a migraine from this, I'm kicking you back to your father."
He shoved another copy of the lyrics at Sam before the brat could continue with his noisy banter.
Sam muttered curses for a full two minutes before he finally reviewed his lyrics. He had already prepared them a few days earlier, but as a professional artist, reviewing before the recording was never a bad idea.
Mingyan merely nodded before going back to reading the lyrics. The song was beautiful in its own way. The rap was in English, while the ballad was in Chinese. The song had an upbeat rhythm, but the lyrics were sensitive and required strong emotion. Mingyan's excitement grew higher and higher as she read the lyrics twice, then thrice.
Mingyan: 'This is like a pie suddenly dropping right on top of me.'
Lily: *tilts her head in confusion*
Mingyan: 'Hehe, we won't even have to struggle for more than a year before we can set fire in both China and internationally! This Hui Mingli is definitely the real deal!'
Lily: 'Yay! Do cookies drop too? Can I have cookies?' *only understands the literal meaning*
Mingyan: ... *pets*
"Are you fine with starting today?" Hui Mingli's voice brought Mingyan back to reality.
She nodded.
"Good. Then we'll start today. If everything goes well, we should be done in a week." Hui Mingli could never have imagined that they'd be finished sooner than that.
Mingyan was the first to enter the recording room. She took the headphones hanging behind the mic and placed them on her head. Then she positioned the lyrics on the music stand so they were easier for her to see. But she didn't really need them, since she had a photographic memory—and a mental camera that went by the name of "Lily."
Lily: 'Do you need me~?'
Mingyan: 'Nope~' *sends a flying kiss*
Mingyan signaled that she was ready to Hui Mingli from the other side of the room—since the wall had a large glass window between them. Hui Mingli signaled to the twins to start the music, while Sam, who had been sitting, stood up to watch. He wanted to see why Hui Mingli was so adamant about taking this new singer for his latest masterpiece. He was gambling! Wasn't he worried she might ruin his career?
The intro instrumental featured a piano and violin duet, and at this part, Sam was supposed to start rapping, so Mingyan waited for her part. Then, when the song shifted to a blend of violin and subtle electronic music, she began to sing.
"I don't know who I am,
I don't know why I exist,
But I'll endure it for as long as I can."
Mingyan couldn't help but express her true emotions. She deeply related to the song because she had been harboring these thoughts for as long as she could remember. She had been transmigrating for thousands of years—or at least, that was how long she remembered. Lily said she had been living for millions of years, but Mingyan argued that it was impossible.
She didn't know who she was. She didn't know why she was transmigrating from one world to another. She didn't know where she came from.
There were too many memories inside her that Lily had to take some of them for safekeeping. But Lily wasn't omnipotent. She, too, had limits. At some points in her transmigration, Lily had to erase certain memories.
"Where am I heading?
Why am I here?
Is it too late to find my own home?"
She was too emotional. Mingyan didn't realize her cheeks were wet with tears as she continued to sing, all the while pondering her immortality.
The people on the other side had stopped moving. Their wide eyes were fixed on the crying girl, singing so emotionally.
Hui Mingli had forgotten to stop her. Although, even if he had remembered, he might not have thought to stop her. He had always recorded his songs in chunks. Stopping the artist two or three times was already considered minimal in the professional circle. And Mingyan was about to do it in one take.
He had really underestimated this girl!
Sam was in a much worse situation than Hui Mingli. Some people fall in love at first sight. But for Sam, whose ears were burning red and whose heart was racing, he had fallen for her the moment she started singing.
Wang Li and Wang Lu were operating the computers, but at this moment, their hands froze midair as they stared at Mingyan in shock. Then, they exchanged a glance.
'Do we need to do one more take?' Wang Li asked his twin with a glance.
'You THINK we need one more take?'
'Un, that's fair. But isn't this a bit unreal?'
'You're watching it AND hearing it. Do you need me to punch you for you to believe it?'
Wang Li shook his head left and right. It's okay, he believed it now.
After about four minutes—the length of the song—Mingyan finished her part, and her streaming tears finally stopped. She took off the headphones and, for the first time, realized she had been crying when her fingers brushed her wet cheek.
She'd really done it this time.
Mingyan: 'Shit!!! Lily, that wasn't out of character, right?!'
Lily: 'Even if it is, it's already been done...'
Mingyan: *fake cry*
Hui Mingli barged in before she could scold herself, his face beaming with happiness.
"That was great! Gu Mingyan, you're definitely a star!" He smiled widely, exposing his perfectly lined teeth. His glee made it seem like he had just won the lottery. Well, in a way, he had—only it was in the form of an audition.
Seeing that the songwriter himself was satisfied, Mingyan no longer dwelled on her out-of-character moment.
The original Gu Mingyan didn't only show her emotions when she was with Shen Yan, but also through songs. So she definitely hadn't acted out of character, right?!
She could only comfort herself this way. 'It wasn't out of character. It really wasn't.'